Opinion

It's time to offer a safe route for asylum seekers arriving in boats

The government's policy on asylum seekers isn't working. This reader has a suggestion for how the UK can step up to prevent more drownings

People marching and holding a Care4Calais banner that says refugees welcome

March Against Racism in Central London, 2022. Image: Alisdare Hickson on Flickr, CC2.0

Solution not persecution. We, as a nation, have blood on our hands. Too many have drowned. We are incapable of management (the process of dealing with or controlling things, or people). We can stop the drownings, curb the gangs and recover some national pride. How about BIG BOATS? We hire Brittany Ferries, (that will please the French) and offer a SAFE route for asylum seekers.

In French ports we board people with any documentation. We process them on board. Obvious failures are disembarked. We then sail for the UK. We rotate the locations of dockings so that all these sad souls are not all dumped in Kent. Successful applicants will have access to funds to get them started in the UK, rather than refugees giving that money to organised crime gangs. By docking at several ports in turn in the UK, local government can have respite before it is their turn again.

By processing on board the boats there are no pinch points and whatever is required, such as fingerprinting or biometric identification can be carried out in comfort and safety. Unaccompanied children and those who were sex trafficked at some stage of their journey can be identified and given assistance by support groups. Job centre staff can match our migrants to job vacancies. I think we can look after the good people and dishearten the crooks, but only if we shout down the naysayers.

Chris Sames, North Yorkshire

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

Support your local Big Issue vendor

If you can’t get to your local vendor every week, subscribing directly to them online is the best way to support your vendor. Your chosen vendor will receive 50% of the profit from each copy and the rest is invested back into our work to create opportunities for people affected by poverty.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
Comedian Chloe Petts: 'Dear internet trolls – I'll wear whatever I like'
Chloe Petts

Comedian Chloe Petts: 'Dear internet trolls – I'll wear whatever I like'

Paris Olympics: 'The city is under siege. I just want it all to be over'
Gendarmes outside the Gare de Nord train station in Paris ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games
Robert McLiam Wilson

Paris Olympics: 'The city is under siege. I just want it all to be over'

I'm a union organiser in Coventry. Here's how Amazon's 'union busting' works
Stuart Richards

I'm a union organiser in Coventry. Here's how Amazon's 'union busting' works

Dear prisons minister James Timpson… Every prisoner should have the opportunity to be creative
Charity Untold empowers young men in prison to reclaim their story
Dr Lorraine Gamman

Dear prisons minister James Timpson… Every prisoner should have the opportunity to be creative

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know